Europe Fudges Its Open Border Promises

The European Union is going through painful contortions to put off keeping its promises of visa-free travel to neighboring countries. The promises were made in rosier, pre-Brexit, pre-Trump times. Now they're a liability.

One of the main reasons poorer countries in Europe want a closer relationship with the EU is for the opportunity of borderless travel. It's a coveted prize to Turks, Kosovans, Ukrainians, Georgians. They don't say so officially, but the arrangement isn't just for tourism: Those seeking temporary or seasonal work will quietly use it, too. The EU has promised visa-free travel to all four countries: To Turkey as part of a deal to keep Syrian refugees from crossing into Greece, to Ukraine and Georgia to keep them out of the Russian sphere of influence, to Kosovo because it's the only Balkan nation whose citizens still require EU visas.